The Hindu : Govt. urged to stop sandmining

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Others

Govt. urged to stop sandmining

By Our Staff Reporter

KARUR, FEB. 14 . The Forum for Water and Livelihood Resources has called upon the State Government to stop sandmining on the riverbeds of the Cauvery and Amaravathy immediately to stem the degeneration of water sources.

A resolution adopted at the conference of farmers here recently said excessive sandmining by private parties had already ruined the rivers in the district. Even after the Government ban on quarrying by private parties and its the subsequent takeover of quarrying operations through the Public Works Department, things had not changed as sandmining was still going on at several places.

That apart, hundreds of dyeing and bleaching units in Karur district had polluted river systems, particularly the Amaravathy, beyond reversible stage. In many parts of the district, underground water had been polluted to a great extent, making potable water a scarce commodity for the common people.

The forum has demanded that the State Government stop sand quarrying from the riverbeds and take effective steps to stop the dyeing and bleaching units from further polluting the river systems before February 22. Else, the forum will intensify the struggle to achieve its slated objectives.

It has also urged the parties contesting from Karur in the coming Lok Sabha elections to include the demands in their manifesto and act on them.

A large number of farmers and members of the women self help groups in the district attended the conference which also gave a clarion call to fight injustice, globalisation and denial of democratic rights.

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